Perfumer Kilian is proud of his uncommon scents

May 21, 2013

Updated 1:17 p.m.

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Perfumer Killian Hennessy, center, poses with fans during an event at Saks Fifth Ave in South Coast Plaza to intoduce his new fragrance "Flower of Immortality" by Killian. LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Perfumer Killian Hennessy introduced his new fragrance "Flower of Immortality" by Killian at Saks Fifth Ave in South Coast Plaza. LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Killian Hennessy's new fragrance "Flower of Immortality" by Killian is packaged in a wooden box with it's own key. LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Perfumer Killian Hennessy waits to greet customers during an event at Saks Fifth Ave in South Coast Plaza. LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A variety of perfumes by Killian are on display at an event at Saks Fifth Ave. in South Coast Plaza to introduce Killian Hennessy's new fragrance. LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Perfumer Killian Hennessy, center, poses with fans during an event at Saks Fifth Ave in South Coast Plaza to launch his new fragrance "Flower of Immortality." LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 7

A variety of perfumes by Killian are on display at an event at Saks Fifth Ave. in South Coast Plaza. LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Perfumer Killian Hennessy, center, poses with fans during an event at Saks Fifth Ave in South Coast Plaza to intoduce his new fragrance "Flower of Immortality" by Killian. LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

There's no question about it, Kilian Hennessy is just about as dreamy as you would imagine him to be. Not only is the French hunk heir to a long line of cognac makers (yes, he is heir to the Hennessy empire), but he has created a luxury brand of perfume that challenges even the successes of his predecessors.

Available in only fewer than 200 luxury retailers around the globe, By Kilian launched in 2007 with only six scents. Exclusive to Saks Fifth Avenue, the Printemps and Le Bon Marche in France, Harvey Nichols in London, and only the most luxurious retailers in Russia and the Middle East, these fragrances are precious. Six years later, Kilian has created four signature collections comprising 19 unique scents, his newest being Flower of Immortality, which launched May 9 at Saks South Coast Plaza.

CEO of the By Kilian franchise, Elisabeth Noel Jones, gave me a walk through of the company's "scent buffet" before being lucky enough to get the effervescent Hennessy, who was posing for photos, signing bottles and chatting with fans, to take a few moments to speak with me.

Q. I am in love with your fragrances. Like nothing I have smelled before.

A. Every collection has a different philosophy and takes us into a different world. The new scent, Flower of Immortality, is built upon the reconstitution of a peach flower. Let me show you.

Q. Oh my, that's lovely. Love it.

A. This is a metaphor for forbidden fruit.

Q. I almost want to drink it, it's so good. Smells like a cocktail! So how do you conceptualize the storyline behind each scent?

A. It's an emotion. This collection is working all on the idea of a forbidden fruit. My scent Good Girl Gone Bad – I want the idea that when you put on the fragrance in the morning, you feel very pretty, very good girl. But as night comes, the more natural elements start to come out, so the bad girl starts to show. This is how we build the fragrances.

Q. Do you remember the first scent you ever smelled?

A. Growing up, my mother and my grandmother, all the women in my family, all their lives wore tuberose.

Q. It's said that smell is the strongest sense tied to memory. Do you think this is true?

A. Oh, yes. The location of your brain where your olfactory bulb is goes directly to where your memory is without processing it first. Your brain cannot filter it. Even when you want to forget about a scent attached to a man, you can't.

I know this from personal experience.

A. Exactly. There's nothing you can do.

Q. So, in your life, besides your own fragrances, is there a specific scent that is tied to a special person or memory for you?

A. No, because unfortunately the thing that you lose when you work in the perfume industry is the magic of having scent attached to people, and not recognizing what that scent is exactly. The scent and the person becomes one. But knowing what smell it is, you can't maintain that magic.

Q. What is your personal favorite scent in the entire set of 20?

A. I don't have a favorite. I have so many and I am so proud of all of them.

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